Alexandra

Yikes, that is scary! Definitely go see them and get aggressive treatment. Good luck, and please keep us posted!!

I'm back and BANDED!! Yaaahooooo!! The surgery went well and I'm "resting comfortably" as they say. I'm soooooo glad to be on this side of the banded divide once again. Thanks so much everyone for your concern and well-wishes! Tonight I'm feeling lousy, of course, but if history is any guide I'll be feeling just fine by the end of the week. Looking forward to two days of vegging out!!

My surgery was at 9:00 this morning, or thereabouts, and I got home at around 3:00. It would have been earlier but WOW thie hospital was busy today and there was a holdup getting me into radiology for the swallow study. That turned out to be a good thing, I think, because during the 90 minutes I waited my head cleared up enormously. (I hate anaesthesia.) I'm home, feeling good, and looking forward to just hanging around the house for a couple of days!! Congratulations to the August Bandsters!!

I hate it when people comment on my weight. I find it an intrusion into my personal space. I would never do it to someone else so I just expect the same respect. But I'm sure that's just me. This is so ingrained in me after a lifetime of hearing only negative comments, that even at support group meetings I have to force myself to compliment others on their progress. That's what we're THERE for and I still have a lot of trouble doing it.

The last few weeks I've been completely preoccupied with a work issue, but suddenly TOMORROW is my rebanding! I'm sooooooo ready to get cinched again, sooooo ready to stop closing in on an upward spiral. Holy hell, if this episode has proven anything to me it's the I NEED A BAND. So this is it. See y'all on the flip side!! :whoo::whoo::whoo:

I'm tomorrow too, thankfully at 9:00 a.m. Best of luck to us both!!

The only thing I've ever told anyone about myself that elicited the reaction of surprise is that I'm a native New Yorker. "You can't be, you're too nice!" was the reaction. Otherwise, what you see is what you get.

Nice to hear from you, Susannah! It's wonderful to hear from a happy bandster out living her life. Keep it up, lady! :biggrin1:

What everyone else said. Mac & cheese was and still is my absolute favorite food. The band lets me forget that. It lets me go about my business as though there is no such thing as macaroni and cheese in the world. Mac & cheese is the ENEMY, and the band is on my side in that battle.

See, it is NOT cheating!! I definitely don't think fins are a cop-out at all, since I really feel the difference in my muscles. Sigh, I hate the proliferation of gadgets even though I know they help. Swimming was supposed to be easy, but now I have the swim cap, goggles, towel, and now fins. I also have to take off my earrings (I've already lost one) and worry about losing my rings. Excuses, excuses...

You could EASILY ask a flight attendant to help you, or some other adult. Will your spouse be with you?

You're not lucky or unlucky, you're normal. However, you're probably going against the advice of your doctor by eating solid food so soon, and may be compromising your healing. Whether you feel it or not, your stomach and esophagus are still recoving from having a foreign object placed in their way, and it takes time for them to heal fully from the invasion. MOST people find that when they go on to solid food after surgery they can eat just fine. Most, I'd even venture to say, claim to feel as though they were not banded at all. So you're normal on that score. But you are testing things by starting early, and that is not necessarily wise or safe.

Glad to hear you're healing up well, Becky! I'm planning to go back to work (desk job) three days out so you're giving me hope that it'll work. You're doing great!!

Well, I'd want to get a doctor's opinion on that. But the bottom line is that not lifting is about HEALING, and why on earth would you want to take any chances on compromising that? The better you heal, the better your entire banding experience will be. There are plenty of other ways to get your kids from Point A to Point B for a few weeks.

No advice, since I still have my GB and (knock wood) have no stones, but I wanted to wish you the best of luck for a painless, uneventful surgery!!

For what it's worth, the reason to avoid lifting is NOT because you could damage your band. The band is on your stomach, not part of your musculature. But your stomach muscles are healing from the trauma of surgery, and there are internal stitches and such. THOSE are what you might disturb if you use your stomach muscles too soon.

This is a question for your doctor. In general, you should not pick up anything more than about 20 lbs for at least a couple of weeks.

Last night was the LAST night of my pre-banding eating habits. My doctors don't prescribe any preop diet at all, so five days prior to surgery I can still eat anything I want. But I know it's a good idea to get on board, so I'm starting today. Last night was Outback: steak, grilled onions, beer (YUM!!), salad, dessert. Oh, and popcorn at the movies. A wonderful last meal! But I am SO ready to say goodbye to stuffing my face; even a "small" steak at Outback was 8 ozs. I want to feel svelte and graceful again. I NEED MY BAND.

If it's the one I'm thinking of, he used to work with my doctors and I saw him once or twice over the years. I liked him. Since my doctors are among the most-respected banding surgeons in the U.S. I'd absolutely trust anyone they felt comfortable working with.

A Rita's just opened up close to my home. I'm planning on it being a big part of my post-op liquid diet!

My experience wasn't as near-miss as yours, but I did have surgery cancelled on surgery day due to insurance not approving. I found out in the morning, though, before even leaving for the hospital. That was back in June. Now I've changed carriers and am counting the days until next week when I will be rebanded. Fingers crossed for both of us that things go smoothly next time!!

BARBARA!!! How WONDERFUL to "see" you here! I was just thinking about you tonight, actually. You sound great! I just might try to drop in tomorrow, yes indeedy. I need a dose of bandster thinking to get me back in the game. Hope to see you there!

Is his first name Adam?

Well, in that case your carrier does have the right to exclude treatment for pre-existing conditions for some period of time. It's typically 12 months for individual policies. This does not mean it's "all for nothing," though. You just have to wait a bit. You're in much better shape than someone who has insurance that doesn't cover it at all!!

OK, so now the question is...what state are you in? Rules and regulations vary considerably from state to state. Some states allow carriers to exclude areas of treatment and others don't. Also, do you have insurance now?